Torture for terror, lawmaker says

Bombing at Boston Marathon and arrest of suspect spurs suggestion, public reaction

Jimmy Vielkin, Times Union

By Jimmy Vielkind

Published 10:05 pm, Monday, April 22, 2013

Senator Greg Ball speaks to thousands of people as the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association holds its 5th Annual Lobby Day and Rally at Capitol Park on Wednesday Feb. 27, 2013 in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Senator Greg Ball speaks to thousands of people as the New York...

Sen. Greg Ball needs no podium at the Second Amendment rally on Feb. 28, 2013, in Albany. Ball said Gov. Andrew Cuomo is "turning vets into criminals. Shame on you." (Jimmy Vielkind/Times Union)

The Friday arrest of a suspected bomber in Boston prompted state Sen. Greg Ball to suggest torturing domestic terrorists.

"So, scum bag #2 in custody," Ball tweeted after the arrest of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. "Who wouldn't use torture on this punk to save more lives?"

A naturalized American citizen whose ancestors come from the Russian republic of Chechnya, Tsarnaev was charged Monday by federal prosecutors and will be tried in a civilian court. He remains in serious but stable condition at a Boston hospital.

Ball, a Republican representing Putnam County who served in the Air Force, drew immediate digital blow-back for the tweet, but stood firm in subsequent interviews. On Saturday, his aides issued a news release touting a bill that would reinstate the death penalty for people convicted of terrorism offenses or killing police officers. On Monday, Ball appeared on the Fox News Channel to say he would be "first in line" to torture someone if he believed the information would save innocent lives.

"In the war against terror, information matters. Terrorists play by a very different set of rules than we do," said Ball, who chairs the Senate's committee on Homeland Security. "If you think about the torture that now hundreds of people are going to have to live with for the rest of their life, and what the families have gone through with their loved ones, I think we have to look at what the governor has called a 'new normal' and toughen our stance in counterterrorism to make a very strong statement that this will not be tolerated."

Speaking on Sunday at a memorial event for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said there was "a recognition of a reality, there's a fear that these things are going to continue. It wasn't just 9/11; this fight against terrorism is part of a new reality for us."